Apple Macbook Pro Laptops Update (April 2010)

It’s now a while since Apple last updated their premium laptops, but they have finally given the Macbook Pro line up an overdue refresh and made some pretty interesting changes in the process, however the already impressive aluminium uni-body exterior design remains the same.

Presumably since most of these changes are internal hardware upgrades, that would be why there was no mention of these MacBook Pro updates at the recent Apple keynote announcement about for the iPhone OS 4 Update.

13 Inch MacBook Pro

Apple’s two 13.3” Macbook Pro’s have a few changes, although they’re still sporting Core 2 Duo processors presumably to keep costs down, with one clocked at 2.4GHz and the other at 2.66GHz. Both models now come with 4GB RAM standard and include a built in battery capable of delivering a whopping 10 hours of battery life. Whether we’ll see this in the real world is yet to be seen, but here’s to hoping!

Both models also come with an NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics chip as standard rather than the 9400M seen in previous models of the 13 inch MacBook Pro laptops.

The 2.4GHz and 2.66GHz models are available for £999 and £1249 respectively from the Apple Store.

15 inch MacBook Pro

Everyone loves better battery life, but you know what I like better? Intel’s new line of Core i5 processors. Clocked at 2.4GHz, 2.53GHz and 2.66GHz, Apple claim that the Core i5 and Core i7 processors included as standard in the new 15 inch models boost performance by up to 50%. With built-in hyper-threading, OS X recognises four virtual cores so you can get processes completed a lot quicker than on the Core 2 Duo chips you’ll find in the 13 inch models.

Again, 4GB memory comes as standard and hard drive capacity is bumped up to 320GB and 500GB depending on the model you choose. The built in battery will deliver between 8 and 9 hours according to Apple’s benchmarks, and you get the more powerful NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M with 256MB of graphics memory too, with memory being increased to 512MB on the 2.66GHz model.

Apple offer a few display choices too. If you don’t want to settle for a 1440×900 display, you can pay £80 (and one pence) for a higher resolution 1680×1050 display. Alternatively, you can get an antiglare display for £120.

The 15 inch MacBook Pro models are available starting at £1499, £1649 and £1799 respectively.

17 inch MacBook Pro

The standard 17 inch model comes with a Core i5 processor clocked at 2.53GHz as standard, although for an extra £160 you can get a 2.66GHz Core i7. If you’re really serious about this new Macbook Pro of yours, you can pack it with 8GB RAM for an extra £320, although it’ll work out cheaper to fit the RAM yourself as per usual with Apple Store prices.

Also on offer is a hard drive upgrade to a 500GB 7200 rpm drive for an extra £40. If you’re a solid state drive lover, you can choose from 128GB, 256GB and 512GB models for £160, £520 and £1040 respectively. Again, you could find these a lot cheaper and fit them yourself, but if you’ve got £1040 to spend on a solid state drive then knock yourself out!

Like the 15”, you can choose between the standard glossy and antiglare display if you don’t like the standard reflective displays. Personally, I think these should be a free choice but if you want an antiglare option you’ll have to pay another £40.

The 17 inch MacBook Pro model starts at £1899, although you could max out the specifications for a lot more than that. Whichever MacBook Pro suits you best, you can take a look at them over at the PC World website.